Guns for San Sebastian (La bataille de San Sebastian) (1968)

[BijouMan]

Warner Archive has revealed that it will add six new titles to its Blu-ray catalog this June. They are: There Was a Crooked Man (1970), Guns for San Sebastian (1968), Ziegfeld Follies (1945), Chain Lightning (1950), It Happened at the World's Fair (1963), and Madame Curie (1943).

[Wtdk]

Never seen this. Anyone know if it’s any good?

[Randy Miller III]

Yep! Pretty good stuff and, as usual, a great transfer.



Guns for San Sebastian Blu-ray Review

[Geode]

Originally Posted by Wtdk

Never seen this. Anyone know if it’s any good?

I saw it in a theater with two friends in first release. I quickly realized it was a loose remake of "The Left Hand of God" (1955) with Anthony Quinn playing a character masquerading as a priest in place of Humphrey Bogart, and the setting moved from China to Mexico.

There is a scene where a dam gets ruptured and a mass of water thunders out below it. One of the friends with me yelled out, "Surfs up" which caused a couple of ushers to run down the aisle looking for us. They never found Farley, who was laying low in his seat at this point.

It was OK, and I enjoyed it but the Bogart film is better. But I haven't seen it in over half a century so I don't know what I would make of it today.

[Dr. Trog]

Originally Posted by Randy Miller III

Yep! Pretty good stuff and, as usual, a great transfer.

Guns for San Sebastian Blu-ray Review

Agreed, this was one of my most wanted titles when it was announced as it had never seen a US DVD release. The story deals with a bandit mistaken for a priest by villagers through a series of seemingly random events. Somewhat a story of redemption in the end.

Worth noting that this film was based on the 1962 novel A Wall for San Sebastian by an actual priest, Father William Barnaby Faherty, albeit with some added violent/action tendencies for the film version. He was delighted when it was chosen for a film and signed copies of the original hardcover are still plentiful.

Frankly, I've been surprised at the minimal discussion on this title: a sarcastically irreverent Anthony Quinn, the ever-stoic Charles Bronson, a vintage spaghetti-like western beautifully photographed in widescreen on location in Mexico, and another wonderful Morricone score. What's not to like...

Highly recommended for the uninitiated!!

[gates70]

Never seen this, does Bronson have a big role?

[drush9999]

Originally Posted by gates70

Never seen this, does Bronson have a big role?

He's the main bad guy, and has a large role.

[gates70]

Originally Posted by drush9999

He's the main bad guy, and has a large role.

Thank you!